Influences of Arabic Pragmatic Transfer on EFL Arab Learners

Khadeja Ahmed 1

INFLUENCES OF ARABIC PRAGMATIC TRANSFER ON EFL ARAB LEARNERS

Introduction

When using L2, Arab EFL learners tend to speak English transferring the Arabic

pragmatic patterns into English. This transfer plays a significant role in the learner’s ability to

speak English fluently. The transfer of the pragmatic patterns can be either positive or negative.

If the transfer from L1 into L2 had a similar pattern, the transfer is positive. If the transfer from

L1 to L2 didn’t have a similar pattern, the transfer is negative. (Rose & Kasper, 2001).

Confusion takes place when the transfer is negative. The negative transfer from L1 to L2 results

in creating a gap in the learner’s perception of L2 and poor communication with native speakers

resulting from ineffective methods of teaching and poor exposure to L2 which in turn need to be

addressed by both EFL instructors and learners.

Effects of Negative Transfer on EFL Learners

A. Negative transfer results in a gap in the Arabic learner’s full perception of L2.

If Arabic EFL learners transfer any linguistic pattern negatively, they will encounter confusion

and face difficulty in understanding or being understood sometimes. Some examples of that

would be patterns like apology, shyness, and compliment. A study conducted by Ghawi &

Jonson (1993, p.48) revealed that when it comes to apology, Arabic learners of English tend to

apologize less than native speakers do. Another situation where negative transfer might occur is

wariness inside the classroom where there is a mixture of Arabic and native speakers of English.

For example, if an Arabic student needs to go outside the classroom, he/she would prefer to

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inform the teacher first. Unlike Arabic speakers of English, native speakers would not seek the

teacher’s permission if they wanted to leave the classroom.

‘Wolfson (1989) led an approach on interlanguage pragmatics authentic interactions of

compliment where she found that L2 speakers did not seem to understand the function of

compliments as a social lubricant in the American culture. The non-native subjects always had

difficulty in responding appropriately to compliments” as cited in Ghawi & Johnson (1993,

p.40). The reason for that would be the unawareness of Arabic learners of the situations where

they might receive or must give compliments. Accordingly, many Arabic EFL learners prefer to

avoid situations where they might get confusion and then get embarrassed. However, such a

situation may not be avoidable. Therefore, when Arabic EFL learners transfer any linguistic

pattern like the ones mentioned above incorrectly, that makes them frustrated and fearful to act

or speak again in order not to make another mistake. That is mainly because they were not

taught how to act at a particular situation that is present in the target language and not in their

native language.

B. Poor communication with native speakers.

A result of the negative transfer that Arabic EFL learners may make is inaccurate and

weak ability to interact with native speakers. When Arabic EFL learners encounter a negative

transfer, they feel that they made a mistake. That may affect their fluency which will in turn

cause them to have poor communication with native speakers which is also frustrating.

Interaction models that are basic in the communication of L2 culture are essential elements for

learning the language and are seen as constructive aspects both socially and culturally, hence, a

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significant problem may face both the language learners and teachers (Rose & Kasper, 2001,

p.126).

EFL learners should be aware of this important element in the target language. They

should not focus only on L2 structure; instead, they should study L2’s socio-cultural

components that are considered as a main part of the language. Also EFL teachers should

develop the techniques to cover all the target language aspects to guarantee that learners, to

some extent, are aware of how to communicate properly and with confidence. Although

misunderstanding or confusion is a normal thing to happen even among speakers of the same

language, hence, Arabic EFL learners might rely on that as a reason for being misunderstood

and confused. Ghawi & Johnson (1993, p.48) state that “Since miscommunication sometimes

occurs between native speakers of the same language, it may not be unreasonable to assume that

miscommunication is likely to take place even more of in intercultural communication”.

Therefore, Arabic EFL learners must not completely rely on that. Also, when studying the

language, they must study the language integrally .i.e. deep and surface structure, pragmatic and

linguistics components, and practical use.

Causes of Negative Transfer from L1 to L2.

A. Ineffective Methods of Teaching

The methods used to teach EFL learners a new language can have a major role in the

negative transfer learners do. A good reason for that would be that EFL teachers mostly focus

on form and meaning rather than other cross-cultural issues related to the language. In most

cases, EFL teachers might be themselves unaware of those cross-cultural issues because the way

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they were taught EFL is simply similar to the way they teach it. Ren, Soler, & Alicia (2009)

stated that “researchers have investigated topics such as the relationship between L2 linguistic

development and pragmatic development, developmental issues and problems related to

pragmatic transfer, the effect of instruction on L2 pragmatic development, and pragmatic

assessment.” (P. 635). However, the materials used in the classrooms are classic and outdated.

FL syllabuses have mainly and classically involved the use of the grammar method and the L2

terms, however, the expansive teaching of L2 has given many opportunities to different

activities by which the capability of using L2 and the regular accurate interaction can be

properly improved (Rose & Kasper, 2001, p.103).

EFL learners can learn the pragmatic patterns of L2 if an insight to the L2 cross-cultural

components correlating or dissociating with their L1 was made clear to them. Also, because of

the current traditional methods of teaching, students will not be able to even know if they will

encounter any problems when using L2 in different situations. EFL learners will not be able to

use the language naturally if they were not taught every usage pattern related to the target

language. This can be better done through L2 pragmatic teaching. Kasper,1997; Kasper &

Rose,1999 stated that” recent classroom research on interlanguage pragmatics has found that, in

general, teaching pragmatics is beneficial to second and foreign language learners”.

B. Poor Exposure to L2

When it comes to the improper use of L2, EFL learners tend to have a role in this

problem. The way they in which they follow the target language rules might be ineffective

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because they don’t do what they are supposed to do. For example, EFL learners might only rely

on the methods, syllabuses, and assignments in the classroom only whereas they are also

required to work hard by exposing themselves to L2 as possible as they can if they want to

improve. This is one of the reasons why there might be students of different levels in the same

classroom with the same methods of teaching which is because the good students usually

continue their everyday language learning outside the classroom.

Also, the environment where the EFL learners live has a major role in their poor or strong

exposure to L2. In foreign environments, EFL learners can mainly get in touch with L2 inside

the classroom and that is not enough if they want to learn the target language efficiently.

However, even inside the classroom, EFL learners’ L2 acquisition still can be effected by the

cross-linguistic patterns of L1. A study revealed that “Intermediate level L2 learners were

sensitive to the semantic contrasts that are instantiated in their L1, but they didn’t recognize the

contrast if the semantic entailment is different between their L1 and L2 which suggests L1

transfer” (Chin, & Hsien-jen, 2006, P.235).

Hence, in places where EFL leaners cannot get in touch with L2 native speakers, they are

required along with their L2 teachers to create an atmosphere that is similar to the target

language’s native environment.

Recommended methods for EFL instructors and learners to address the issue

A. EFL Instructors’ Role

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To thoroughly teach EFL, teachers can use methods that can help students use L2 accurately

taking into account the ross-cultural and pragmatic patterns of the target language. For the

purpose of providing helpful inferential methods of instruction when teaching L2, syllabuses’

socio-cultural structure should be both studied and pragmatically perceived by EFL teachers

(Kasper & Rose, 1999. P). Hence, EFL teachers cannot teach the learners these linguistic

patterns if they were not aware of their importance in the practical use of L2. They must employ

materials that correlate with L2’s socio-cultural background.

Including L2’s pragmatic pattern inside the classroom is a major factor that guarantees a

good perception of the target language by EFL learners. Ghawai (1993) stated that “the lack of

socio-cultural pragmatic teaching and the error correction have been the reason for what

Scarcella (1992) called a fossilized “discourse accent” in advanced L2 speakers of English”

(P.49). EFL teachers can cover any issue arising from learners’ unawareness of L2 pragmatic

patterns by including those patterns in the syllabus.

B. EFL Learners’ Role

EFL learners should be aware that when learning a foreign language, they must expect that this

language will not have the same linguistic forms and socio-cultural components that are

available in their L1. Also they should be aware of the importance of learning the L2 pragmatic

patterns so that they don’t make any negative transfer that affect their fluency and accuracy

when using the target language or communicating with L2’s native speakers. According to

Ghawi & Johnson (1993), Omago (1986, P. 359) “reminds us that in addition to being

acquainted with the linguistic aspect of a language, the L2 learners should have knowledge of

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“the patterns of living, acting, reacting, seeing, and explaining the world of the target country as

well” (P.49). Hence, it is not enough for EFL learners to only study the structure and meaning

of L2, but they should go beyond that and explore all the pragmatic aspects of the target

language if they look forward to using it properly.

Conclusion

As long as Arabic EFL learners make a positive transfer from L1 to L2, they might not

encounter any problem when speaking in the target language. But once there is a negative

transfer when the pragmatic patterns of L1 are not the same as those in L2, then Arabic EFL

learners can face a problem. However, there are some factors that results from this negative

transfer such as the gap in the EFL learner’s perception of L2 and the poor communication with

native speakers. Those factors are mainly caused because of the ineffective methods of teaching

and the poor exposure Arabic EFL learners have to L2. There are two major roles both EFL

teachers and learners can have in order to avoid having the negative transfer. Teachers should

use effective teaching method and syllabuses that include the L2’s pragmatic patterns as a main

part of L2. Also, Arabic EFL learners should know that those pragmatic patterns are the ones

that constitute any practical use of any language. Besides, they shouldn’t only rely on the

materials given to them inside the classroom but they should advance to studying every

linguistic and socio-cultural element of the target language if possible.

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References

Chin, & Hsien-jen, 2006. Cross-linguistic Effects on L2 Acquisition : An Investigation of Aspect retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations

Ghawi, M., & Johnson, D., (1993). Pragmatic transfer in Arabic learners of English. Working Papers of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, 1, (1), 39-55, University of Arizona.

Ren, W., Soler, E., & Alicia, M. (2009). Investigating Pragmatics in Foreign Language Learning, Teaching and Testing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31, (4), 653-655.doi: 10.1017/S0272263109990131.

Rose, K., & Kasper, G. (2001). Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ly/books

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Influences of Arabic Pragmatic Transfer on EFL Arab Learners